Sand Timer
by IWishIWasAMermaid
Summary: Grant my last request, and just let me hold you, don't shrug your shoulders..


**Slow down, lie down,  
Remember it's just you and me**

Three words. That was all it took to break Keely into millions of pieces. And thing is, strictly speaking, if someone besides him had said it, it might not be so bad. Home was just their house, right?

Not with him.

With him, home was much, much further than that. Somewhere that Keely would never be able to visit him. He would vanish, off the face of the Earth, and then re-appear, where he should be. By his rights.

But what about her rights? It was Keely Teslow's right, to fall in love, and stay in love, no matter what happened throughout. Yet, love sure was complex.

_Ancient Chinese proverb: Love is like war - easy to begin, harder to end. _

Damn right. It was too easy to fall in love. But to fall out of love… not so much. It's also too easy to get on a plane. But once the doors are sealed, and air locked, you aren't getting out of there in a hurry.

"But I thought it would be years. Years and years. You said. Years and years. Years and years and years. You promised. Well, technically you didn't promise, but you gave me impression. I assumed… I know, I know, never assume… you're really going?" Keely babbled, trying to rid some of the thoughts all cramming into her brain.

Phil just nodded.

"No!" Keely screamed, driving her foot into the sand.

Maybe the beach was a bad idea, Phil thought. At least it's dark. Almost midnight. There's not that many other people out here.

"No!" she cried again, throwing her hands up to the sky. "Why? Why did you have to go and ruin it?"

It was clear that she wasn't talking to Phil.

"Keely… It's just you and me. Sit down…" Phil tried to touch Keely's arm; tried to shake her from her hysteria, but she just flinched, and moved away.

**Don't sell out, bow out,  
Remember how this used to be **

"Keely, please sit down," Phil begged her, and reluctantly, Keely fell onto the sand.

Grains of the dust-like substance flew into the air, as Keely picked up a handful, and set it free; let the wind carry it along. She repeated this, until there was a small dent in the sand, right next to where she was sitting. But still, she picked some up, and released it.

Grains of sand, falling through a sand timer. That's what this whole relationship had been. Keely knew that. Sand, falling through the time, until finally, there was this moment. Where only a small pile of sand remained. And then… there would be none left. The time would have run out. Nothing more to say.

Except there would be more to say. There would always be more to say. Everyday, she'd think of something new that she would have liked to have discussed with him. Everyday, she'd think of a joke she never told, a lie she'd never lied, a speech she'd never said. She would never escape from it.

And as she looked out to the sea, where the faintest of blue light was beginning to show along the horizon, she knew that the sand was thinning. And she knew, that soon, it would all be over.

**I just want you closer,  
Is that alright?  
Baby let's get closer tonight **

"Keels?" Phil broke the silence. He had watched her, pick up the sand, let it go. Pick up the sand. Let it go. Let it fly away, into the wind. "Talk to me."

She didn't respond. Not because she didn't want to, or because she resented him. But because she couldn't think of the words to say. Because nothing she thought seemed suitable to say to him. Nothing seemed to fit the mould.

"Keely, I know you're upset, but we both knew that this time would come," Phil begged, hoping, wishing that she would forgive him.

They had both known this time would come. Shoved it away. Pretended it never would. Yet the time was ticking away. The alarm bells were about to ring. The dream was about to end, and they were both about to be plunged into a reality that they had both hated.

"Keels. Come here," Phil said, beckoning.

Keely looked over, and he saw the hurting in her eyes. The devastation. The soul being sucked out of them. They were hollow, tired, miserable, disappointed, distressed… everything. All the pain in the world was in Keely's eyes right then. All of it.

**Grant my last request,  
And just let me hold you  
Don't shrug your shoulders,  
Lay down beside me **

"Keely? Please?" Phil asked, motioning for her to come to him. To hold onto him, and hopefully never let go.

Keely shrugged. And it was in that one motion, that Phil's heart broke. She was trying to act like she didn't care. Her expression was blank, like she had no feeling towards it. Her posture, and the way she was doing things… she was trying not to show that she was broken. But her eyes gave her away. And whilst you can change, your expression, body language and posture, you can't change your eyes.

"Lay down here Keely," Phil said, but when she did nothing he sighed. He wanted, more than anything to reverse all of this. To be holding her, when he told her, and not have this distance between them.

He moved towards her, half expecting her to move away. But she didn't. She stayed still, perfectly still.

**Sure I can accept that we're going nowhere,  
But one last time just go there,  
Lay down beside me **

"Keely, please. I know that this is over. And I know that I'll never see you again, but please. One more hug," Phil tried, once more, to condole her.

Her face was turned to the moon. Moonlight bathed over her face. Her lips were pouted, but not immensely so. Just enough for Phil to see that she was pouting. Her eyes, were sparkling, but not of joy. Because tears were beginning to well up inside of her eyes. Her chest was moving up and down, slowly. So slowly, that Phil could hardly see it at first. It didn't look like it was moving at all.

"Let's be happy. Together. One last time," Phil sighed.

**Oh, I've found, that I'm bound  
To wander down that one way road  
And I realise all about your lies  
But I'm no wiser than the fool I was before  
I just want you closer,  
Is that alright?  
Baby let's get closer tonight **

Keely wanted to relent. She wanted to be hugged. But she couldn't move. Moving would stop her concentration. Her concentration on keeping the tears, that so badly wanted to fall, from falling. But not crying when you need to cry, is unhealthy.

"Phil?" She whispered, hardly recognising her own voice. "Will you hug me?"

Phil nodded, and wrapped his arms around her slowly, pulling her closer to him. She was colder than he expected, on a warm night like this. But she didn't seem to care.

**Grant my last request,  
And just let me hold you.  
Don't shrug your shoulders,  
Lay down beside me.  
Sure I can accept that we're going nowhere,  
But one last time just go there,  
Lay down beside me **

Phil stared into the distance, at the growing pink strip on the horizon.

Why did his dad have to go and fix the time machine now? Why couldn't he have waited? Until Phil was old enough to stay here, by himself?

Why did his Mom have to give in? She had put up a fight about staying here, but when she saw how much work his Dad had put into it, she had reluctantly agreed. Which had made it three against one.

Why did he have to be from the future? Being from this time would have been so much easier. Then, he could just be with Keely. And have nothing in the way.

But asking himself these questions, was like asking why the world went round. It's how it happens. It's how it's meant to be.

**Oh, baby, baby, baby,  
Tell me how can, how can this be wrong? **

"Phil, don't you love me?" Keely asked, as the sky turned to pink. It seemed like most of the night had been accompanied by the hollow sound of silence. They were both still lying, on the sand, watching the sky. Neither had looked at the other for hours.

"Of course I do!" Phil said, not caring about hiding it anymore. Time was running out, rapidly.

"Then how is staying here so wrong? How is being 21st century Phil so bad? Why can't you be the person that you are now? In this century?" Keely cried, not making much sense. But Phil understood it perfectly.

"It's not bad. It's my decision. But three against one was never going to work," Phil sighed.

Keely sniffed, still trying to hold tears back. "It's not three against one. It's four against three. Owen, and Via."

"That would only be three," Phil said, though he knew who the other person was.

"And me. I should count as two people though," Keely sighed. "But I'm not. I'm one person."

Phil sighed, and looked over at Keely. "It's not wrong. It feels so right. Yet, I have no say in the matter. Whether it's right for me or not, it's wrong for my family."

"So, you're going to go back to somewhere that you hate, knowing that you can never return to the place you love, because your family say so?" Keely asked trying to understand.

Phil shrugged. "Sometimes you make sacrifices for the ones you love."

"Then sacrifice 2121," Keely whispered. "Sacrifice 2121, for me."

**Grant my last request,  
And just let me hold you.  
Don't shrug your shoulders,  
Lay down beside me **

"You know I'd love to," Phil said, thinking about the possibilities if he did. He could marry Keely. Have a family. Die happy. Live how he wanted to live, with his friends. Not have to lie every day, and tell his family how glad he was that he had returned.

"But you can't," Keely finished for him. "Oh well. I tried."

"I love you Keels," Phil said, turning to her, and cupping her face in his hand. "But I'm from the future."

"And I'm from now. But it doesn't matter. We're together. It was fate, that brought you here? Can't you see? It was meant to be. If you hadn't been from the future, we may never have met. Because, you might not have had to join H.G Wells. And then, you wouldn't have offered to tutor me, and then we wouldn't be friends. You had to come from the future for all that to happen. Can't you see that?" Keely cried.

"I can see. But I can't do it," Phil sighed.

It was dawn now. It was almost time.

Phil got up and dusted himself off. The sand on his trousers flew; the wind whipped them away.

"You're wonderful, do you know that?" Keely sighed. "Truly wonderful."

Phil smiled, and held out a hand, to help Keely up. The familiar tingles were somewhat dulled. Knowing that this was the end. That nothing would ever be done about them. Faded.

**  
Sure I can accept that we're going nowhere,  
But one last time just go there,  
Lay down beside me**

"Last chance," Keely breathed, as the Diffy RV pulled up at the edge of the beach.

Phil shook his head. "I can't, Keely. Please understand."

"I do understand. I truly do. I just wish…" Keely began, but trailed off.

"I wish too," Phil nodded.

Keely began to walk up the beach, where Barb and Lloyd Diffy were watching, waiting for the end.

"Keely," Barb said, pulling the girl she had grown to love, into a hug. "We'll miss you, you know? All of us."

Lloyd nodded at her. He didn't know her enough to hug her, yet he felt sad to say goodbye. Keely nodded back, equally unsure as what to do.

Pim sighed. "Yeah. Okay, so I've given you a lot of grief. But yeah, I'll miss your blonde, little, perky head, popping up all the time. So okay, I'll hug you. But, if you ever tell anyone about it, I'll hunt you down."

Keely smiled, even though if was hard, and leaned forward to hug Pim.

"Okay, that's enough!" Pim cried, after about five seconds. "And your lips are sealed."

Keely nodded, and turned back to the beach, where Phil was slowly walking up. "C'mon Phil!" she called. "Before my heart breaks anymore," she whispered.

Barb's ear pricked up at this. She was sure she knew what Keely had said, but she didn't want to mention it.

"We'll be… over here," Barb excused them, and pushed Lloyd and Pim over to the time machine, where they stood casually, pretending they weren't watching, when in actual fact they were.

Keely looked at Phil, and this time was unable to stop the tears.

"I'll miss you. So much. But you have to go, and you've said that, so I won't ask anymore. It's your life. And you obviously don't need me in it," she sighed, the tears streaming down her face now.

"I do need you, Keels. But my family need me," Phil tried to wipe the tears from her face, but more replaced those that he cleared.

"What about if I need you?" Keely cried.

Phil shook his head. "You won't."

"I will. I do. You're the thing that keeps me going. When I'm really depressed, I think of seeing you, and I pull through," Keely sighed. "Don't make me promise to be okay. Because I won't do it. I'm not going to promise not to kill myself, or die alone. Because I can't promise those sort of things. Tomorrow, may be too much. I'll have to wait and see. Right now, I have no goal."

"Yes, you do Keely. You told me you had loads of plans," Phil said.

Keely tilted her head. "Colleges that let you share a dorm with your best friend. Planning what type of house we get. Planning a wedding, my dress, your tux. Giving our kids names… all that is no use to me anymore, is it?"

"Those were your plans?" Phil asked, looking into her eyes, which were tear streaked.

Keely nodded. "Yeah. All those plans I told you about. They all needed you to stay. God, please don't stay now. Please, just go. Because I know, that if you stay, it's not because you want to. It's because I want you to. And I won't tear you away from your family."

"Keels-" Phil began.

"Please. Just go," Keely sobbed, and pulled him into a hug. "But in the future, will you wait for me?"

"Of course," Phil whispered into her ear.

Keely pulled back, wiping her hands across her cheeks. Then she flapped her arms at Phil, motioning for him to leave. "Go. Now. Just go."

**Yeah, lay down beside me**

"Bye," Phil said. It sounded so final. Bye. He hated things that could never be reopened. Things that were final. Could never be delved into. The word tasted horrible in his mouth. But he had to say it.

"Bye," Keely nodded, wiping her tears away.

Phil walked, slowly over to the RV, where his parents were waiting. Barb had tears rolling down her cheeks, Lloyd looked wet-eyed, and Pim was silent. They had all heard everything, but none of them could help.

"Bye!" Keely called, as they got into the time machine, and closed the door.

And then, with a sonic shimmey, and an orange glow…they were gone.

**One last time let's go there,  
Lay down beside me**

Keely bit her lip, watching the empty space. Wanting them to reappear. Wanting them to decide that it was a mistake.

They didn't.

She sighed, and slipped off her shoes. She picked them up, and walked back down to the sea, paddling her feet in the waves.

She bet down, and picked up the sand underneath the water. The wet sand, that feels all sludgy, and not soft, like the dry grains. Not like the dry grains, that feel like you could walk on them forever. Wet sand makes you sink. Makes you stick, so that you feel like you have to stay. In one place.

Then she held her hand out, stood up, and felt the wind.

The wet sand caught the wind, but instead of flying gracefully, it dropped. Dropped into the sea. Final.

The sand stopped running.

The sand timer was full at the bottom, and empty at the top.

Keely looked around, at the sea, and let the salty tears run into the salty ocean. Let them merge together. Merge together as one. Like her and Phil should've. But they never got around to it.

Time was up.

**Okay, so yeah, you deserve a happy story, but I feel that England also deserved to win the game against Portugal. So neither one of us get what they deserve. **

**I mean, c'mon. 11 Portugal players, 10 England players. Who's gonna win? Who should knock the other team out of the water? Off the pitch? Well, they didn't. In fact, England played better with 10 frikin men, than with 11. Well, they did, but after 90 minutes normal time, 30 minutes extra time and penalties. Penalties. And England were disadvantaged. And still, Portugal couldn't score. Still England prevented them from scoring. England deserved to win. Whether they deserved to win the World Cup, is debatable. But they deserved to win that game. And I'm not just saying that because I'm English. If you can, look on the BBC website, and watch the highlights. Then tell me if you agree. **

**But yeah, so I'm bummed. **

**Last Request - Paolo Nutini.**


End file.
